LIGHTNING IS COOL

THE MONKEY REPORT:

As a visitor to Houston, Texas I was amazed at the heat and humidity throughout my stay. The trip was good, but I am not a fan of weather so sticky that is uncomfortable, so I was looking forward to returning home. As we approached the George Bush Intercontinental Airport the sky seemed to quickly take on a rather dark and ominous shade of grey. Moments later we were in a torrential downpour and surrounded by a breathtaking show of fork lightning.

Pulling up the terminal, it was hard not to notice the tremendously long line of planes not going anywhere. The airport was closed to all air traffic – no planes in or out. I was able to check in and sit at the gate, but there was no plane for me to get on to. As the crowd of similarly stranded traveler’s grew, I pulled out my digital camera and with sheer luck, was able to catch a stunning movie of two lightning strikes hitting the runway. The detail is amazing and you can even see the bolt of electricity travel back upward for a bit.

It turns out that one of the lightning strikes caused a power outage in part of the airport which meant further delays. Eventually I boarded my plane, although it was five and a half hours late which caused me to miss my connecting light, forcing me to overnight in Phoenix...which, by the way, was 40 degrees celsius by the time my plane lifted off the runway en route to my Vancouver home.